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I have pondered the idea of obtaining dual citizenship, US/Mexican. My mother is a naturalized US citizen (born in Mexico). My father was born in the US, but his parents were from Mexico.
According to the Mexican law recently passed, anyone with at least one parent born in Mexico and having been a Mexican citizen previously, can apply for Mexican citizenship.
My question to those in El Paso, has anyone already done this? Was the process simple? I am considernig doing this, but want to know how hard the process is, and what obligations I may have as an adult male in doing so. Not that only El Pasoans have done this, but I do know that a good majority of El Pasoans have parents born in Mexico and may have already accomplished this.
I know that any military obligations are waved, and I don't really care about their social services as I will never use them, but I wanted to know if there are any other things I should know about.
The US allows dual citizinship, and I see is it as a plus rather than a minus. I have family all over Mexico, and I would be able to own property outright, even on beaches (non Mexican citizens cannot own property on the beach). Also, if I wanted, I could also work.
One negative I see is that should I ever encounter any trouble there as a Mexican citizen, I loose all US diplomatic assistance. I would also like to know if anyone can shed any light on this. I don't ever see myself in this situation, but I thought it would be worth asking.
My wife is a Norwegian citizen and lives in the US as a permanent residence with a green card. She has applied for our children to become Norwegian citizens. Should I decide to get Mexican citizenship, my children would have three passports.
This opens up HUGE windows of opportunity for us. Don't get me wrong, I am a patriot and love my country. I've traveled the world, and the US cannot be beat, and I shall always regard it as the best place with promise and opportunity. What I see with dual citizenship are more opportunities, and experiences.
Well, what do you think?
Regards
Last edited by Bo; 01-12-2009 at 12:37 PM..
Reason: Moved from El Paso forum, since this info could be of interest to members in many states.
So, for anyone who cares, I've given myself the mission of accomplishing this task, so I'll document what I go through in case someone Googles it.
So, my first task was to contact the Mexican Consulate here in Houston to inquire about it. I received a prompt reply from the consular's office, and based on the information of my initial post, I was informed that the first step would be for my mother to reclaim her Mexican citizenship.
That alone posed an interesting question; my mother became a naturalized US citizen sometime in the late 60s, but she told me she never renounced her Mexican citizenship in the eyes of Mexico. In other words, she never signed any papers, or did any paperwork in Mexico actually. Basically, she just emigrated (legally BTW ) to the US with my grandparents.
However, she's been out of Mexico well over 50 years. Is she still a Mexican citizen? Well, I'm going to find out. I have to contact the Mexican Consulate with an update. I'll post my progress.
An update already! I must admit, it's only been a few minutes from my last post, but I thought getting answers from the Mexican Consulate would take a days, but not today I guess.
So I called back and spoke to Maria, she said my mother needs the following:
Official birth certificate from Mexico
US Naturalization documents
Current and valid US photo ID
Copy of marriage license
2 photocopies of above documents
1 photo
$15.00 processing fee
Must be present
So, my first step is to get my mother, or her relatives in Mexico, to obtain her birth certificate. Easy enough. Next is the US Naturalization documents, something new. Her marriage license, photocopies of documents, photo, fee, and her presence is easy as well.
According to Maria, once my mother shows up with those documents, all she has to do is present them, pay the fee, have her fingerprints taken and she'll become a Mexican Citizen once again.
BTW, if one leaves Mexico, they don't lose their citizenship, it's only those who had to renounce their citizenship prior to taking the oath and becoming a US Citizen. This is not practiced by the US anymore.
When my mother became a US Citizen, the US required all would-be naturalized citizens to renounce their foreign citizenship. The laws have changed only recently and the act of renouncing one's citizenship is no longer required unless the person holds certain jobs in the US, or is running for a high office (politics). The US currently recognizes dual citizenship, as does Mexico.
I phoned my mother, and to my amazement (I don't know why really), she has all those documents. I can't believe she still has her naturalization documents, even her marriage license as she was married 50 years ago.
I told my mom to choose a date that is convenient for her so I can fly her to Houston to get this done. I also told her that she can babysit for us while she was here.
So, this is very simple for anyone wishing to do the same. I guess my next post won't be until my mother completes her part, then mine will follow. I think that is also an easy process, but may cost more. We'll see.
I've decided to do the same and get my Mexican citizenship. Thanks for posting these steps. My father will also have to get his Mexican citizenship before I can proceed with mine. Thanks a lot and I look forward to reading the updates on the process. Will you also get your Mexican Passport?
Yes, I will get a passport along with it. I think this will happen within the next couple of weeks, I'll post my progress for sure. There may be a waiting period between the time my mother regains her citizenship and I apply for mine, but I will let you know... stay tuned!
Nrkelly, I hope you do it, and good luck to you. I've heard that obtaining UK citizenship is not that difficult.
I will be flying in my mom the week of July 7th when we will go to the Mexican Consulate's office to do the paper work, and legal motions.
In regards to the Norwegian citizenship, my wife and I stopped by the Norwegian Consulate and obtained the paperwork. What is needed for them is:
Mother's People Number, and Passport
Certified copy of birth certificate for children
There is no cost for the Norwegian process. Once the paperwork is submitted and sent to Oslo, and a 'People Number' is assigned to our kids, then with that, they can get their Norwegian passports issued in Houston. This effort starts June 24th.
I'll update this thread with the progress of both efforts.
Not sure about NZ. I was just down there last month! I also was in AU as well on vacation. Beautiful country. Our friends in Perth told us that AU had tightened their immigration rules recently, I think they also said NZ did the same. Their reason sounded very familiar, lots of illegal immigration from China, though ours is from Latin America, in particular, Mexico.
I've read your posts, you've been in the military, did you happen to go to Fremantle by Perth? Lots of fun there.
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) to the US with my grandparents.
thanks!
